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Anyone detailed (wash and wax only) a 40' motorhome?

I have a guy who wants me to wash and wax his 40' motor home. Its a CC/BC paint 3 shades of gray from light to nearly black. I would use NXT on it and depending on the paint some DC#1.

I know its a lot of work but I have three weeks to do the job and I don't have to do it all in one day. I would use my pc to do most of the work. I guess it would take an entire day but can anyone fill me in on this?

What might be a good rate? I know they charge $1 a foot to wash by hand then a wax fee on top of that, someone here told me about $160 for a wax, I know I would do a MUCH beter job than some others that I have seen. I have also heard a FULL detail can run up to $600. Again I know its alot of work but $250, that is what he offered me? I kind of figure a FULL 8 hours to do it.

ricks right on with the cleaner wax. when I do my trailer, it's like one of those horror movies where the hall way keeps getting longer and longer.... something else, when you wash do a VERY good job on the rubber roof. if you don't the first rain will have all your work covered up by black streaks. even if it looks clean do it any way, you'll be amazed what comes off the roof. good luck

Re: Anyone detailed (wash and wax only) a 40' motorhome?

Originally posted by gb387 I have a guy who wants me to wash and wax his 40' motor home.

I guess it would take an entire day but can anyone fill me in on this?

What might be a good rate?

I have also heard a FULL detail can run up to $600. Again I know its alot of work but $250, that is what he offered me? I kind of figure a FULL 8 hours to do it.

When it comes to washing and waxing a 40 ft motorhome you should figure about twenty hours in order to do the job right. It basically breaks down to the fact that you will probably be able to work at the rate of about two feet per hour. 40 feet = 20 hours. (For example; a 36 ft motor home would take about 18 hours and a 32 ft motorhome would take about 16 hours)

The next thing you will need to do is to figure out what hourly rate you want (or need) to make. If you settle for $250 and it takes you 20 hours that'll work out to an hourly rate of only $12.50 per hr. At $600 for 20 hours of work you would be making $30 per hour.

Your pricing should be based on the length of the motorhome. For example, if you charge $6.25 per ft the total cost would be $250. In order to make $600 for this job you would need to charge $15 per foot.

If I were pricing that job here in Southern New Jersey, I would charge somewhere between $20 to $25 per ft, based on the age and condition of the motorhome. That works out to a total cost of between $800 and $1,000.

Think about it. There is nothing worse than getting a detailing job that ends up taking much more time than you thought when you estimated the job. Remember, it is always better to under estimate and over deliver.

Frank is right about the time it takes for the job. I am not an expert at detailing RVs but I've done 2 motorhome and 6 trailers since Aug and I charge $10.00 per foot and that's not very much for the amount of work involved (approx $20.00 per hr) but that's the ongoing rate in my area.

Also don't forget that some area on the RV will have black streaks that will not come off with a normal wash and you probably will have to pre soak the RV with a good detergent before you wash and use a cutting compound in some stubborn areas before you wax. I hope you have a PC because it would be a hell of a job to do by hand.

Good luck,

Big Ben

Big Ben
Buff Tech Auto Detailing

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